Ok, im hoping this chapter makes sense coz I was hit on the back of the head this morning with an icehockey stick at training …so if there are any mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them

Chapter 10 – Powers

Tash Woke the next morning at about 8 am. The smell of bacon and panakes was enough to bring anyone out of a coma. Stretching in the long bed Tash rolled out on to the cold floor.

Padding into the kitchen she found Olivia slaving over the stove.

"Morning." Tash yawned.

"Hey Tash, how'd you sleep?" Olivia smiled behind her to the young girl.

"Yea not to bad. Couple of bad dreams but nothing I haven't been able to live with."

Olivia turned around and carried a plate of pancakes and bacon to the bench. She and Tash ate in silence for about 25 minutes before Tash spoke up.

"Olivia, would you tell me about your childhood?"

Tash watched as Olivia's head shot up and then she sighed.

"Why do you want to know?" Olivia picked at the food left on her plate, worried about where this conversation was actaully going.

"Well Peter said something to me the other day and I was curious." Tash didn't bring her eye's up to meet Olivia's this time.

"I'm sure he did…" Olivia rolled her eyes and began her story, "well there isn't much to tell really. My father was navy, we moved around a lot, after he died my mother drank a lot and remarried. He would drink and hit her and me. I was the oldest and my sister was still only young. I remember having lots of broken bones or cuts and bruises. One night when I was 9, he went too far, one night I will never forget for the rest of life. After he left my room he was going out to the pub. Mum and him yelled at each other and the door slammed. I ran into his bedroom and took out the gun he kept in the top draw," Olivia paused for a moment and Tash could see the lump I her throar being swallowed, "I shot him, twise. We were told he was going to die, and I was happy but the bastard lived. He never came back though."

Olivia was still looking down at her plate when her story finished. Tash whiped away a tear that formed in her eye.

"It screwed my up pretty bad, ya know."

"Olivia, it didn't screw you up. You are one of the strongest woman I know and I wish I could be as strong as you. I still cry at night but you, you have been able to build yourself a life away from him." Tash shook her head and Olivia looked up.

There is no way this girl is only 15 years old. Olivia thought to herself. She smiled slightly at Tash before answering her previous statement.

"Tash, you're a smart girl. It's ok to cry, trust me. My stap father sends me a card every year on my birthday, just to remind me he is still around. Usually they are sent to my work but this year I came home and it was slipped under my door. I cried all night and the next morning and you know what made me stop?"

Tash shook her head.

"Peter. He doesn't know anything about the card but when I saw him the next afternoon he just smiled and turned to me. He said it'll be ok Liv. It's funny I told him the same story as I just told you and but he wait till the next day before he told me it was going to be ok." Olivia smiled to herself at the thought of Peter's eyes when he spoke to her.

"I wish I didn't have to be anywhere near my father. He did this ya know…" Tash pulled up her sleeve and showed Olivia the healed over cuts, "He used to bring a knife to my arm everytime I cried when I was young, which was most of the time because I was so little. Peter was the only one who cared really. He took me in and found me somewhere to stay. And then he left and I didn't hear from him after that. I knew he must have been on the run from my father. He never stayed in one place for long, so im surprised he has stayed here with you."

Tash and Olivia just watched each other for a moment.

"You can start fires?"

Olivia laughed, more at herself than Tash, "yea I guess I can, but I've never really tried to harness it. It scared me really."

"Well I can control the earth, apparently. I scream earthquakes happen. I cry, it rains. I smile and the sun comes up. I'm like freaking mother nature."

Tash and Olivia laughed. Then the thought hit Olivia.

"Hey Tash, do you think you can control the fire if I was able to light one?"

Shrugging Tash looked up, "I don't know, want to try it?"

It took about 30 minutes to move all the furnature out of Olivia's lounge room.

Standing in the middle Olivia closed her eyes and thought of something that was always going to make her scared, losing Peter. With his image in her mind Olivia rose her hands up in front of her. She could feel the heat rise in her as Peter's image grew and then suddenly…

Ring Ring!

Olivia's eyes shot open and she laughed. Talk about bad timing. Flipping the phone around in her hand Olivia answered.

"Dunham…hey Peter…yea we are up, come past if you want…ok we'll see you soon then." Olivia pressed the red button and turned to face Tash. The grin on Olivia's face was almost childish.

"Oh man, you are so hooked on him!" Tash laughed as Olivia's face dropped.

"I know you think that but plea…"

Tash cut Olivia off mid sentence, "Don't worry, I wont tell Peter."

It wasn't long before Peter arrived to pick them both up to go to the lab. It was around 10am and the sun was blaring through the windsheild.

Laughing Olivia turned to Tash, "would you please stop being so happy, it's way to bright out here." It was barely a whisper and the sudden movement made Peter look in the rear vision mirror at the girls laughing.

"Yea well at least my power doesn't come from being turned on by Peter." Tash's words reached Olivia ears and her eyes dropped. Turning back to face the front Olivia became quiet and Tash laughed to herself.

"Ok what is going on between you two huh?" But no one answered Peter and so they drove in silence the rest of the way to the lab.

Ok guys. I have exams coming up this week so I might not be able to write a whole lot but I should be able to get a few chapters done over the next few days.

I hope it's not getting boring.

Let me know

Ash